VisualStudio - Articles - Zimbio

Beginning Ajax with Visual Studio 2005

Fri, 1 Nov 2008 16:18:39 GMT

posted by algodon

Developing Ajax Websites using Visual Studio 2005 is actually not difficult to learn. Firstly, you have to install a copy of Visual Studio 2005 and install the ASP.NET AJAX Extensions 1.0 from here.

How to create an AJAX website using Visual Studio 2005?

In Visual Studio 2005, select New > Web Site > ASP.NET AJAX ENABLED WEBSITE as shown below.

If you look in the toolbox, you will see AJAX Extensions. What we will do now is to create a simple Timer Ajax page in Visual Studio.

The following line will be automatically created in Default.aspx. By default in ASP.NET AJAX, all AJAX code will run at the server. You can create client AJAX applications in Visual Studio 2005 but that is not covered in this example.

All the AJAX Timer control from the AJAX Extensions toolbox by dragging and dropping it onto the Design page of Default.aspx. If you look in the source, it will like this:

The Timer control runs at the server and you set the interval value to tell the program how often to trigger the OnTick event. The interval value is measured in milliseconds. You have to tell the program what to when the OnTick event is triggerred. In this case we point it to a function called Timer_Tick. Below is an example of the source of the Default.aspx page.

Here you will notice additional tags in the Default.aspx page such as:

Let me explain what the tags mean in this example. The GridView control is added because we want the GridView to be updated every time the OnTick event is fired. Because it is an ASP.NET AJAX application, we have to include the tag and wrap the and GridView within updatepanel. The OnTick event will update the control within the updatepanel.

Now let’s take a look at the code-behind for the Timer_Tick code. An example is shown below. You can basically code anything you want in Timer_Tick. All it does it carry out what is coded within the function when the OnTick event is fired. In this example it calls BindGrid() which connects to the database, fetches a recordset and binds it to the GridView.

I’ve use the Timer example because it is something I used in one of my project at work. The management wanted a simple web page that would refresh itself at a fixed interval to show the location of service engineers. I used a combination of the AJAX Timer control and GridView control to display the data as requested.

This concludes my first example of beginning AJAX with Visual Studio 2005.

For other Visual Studio and GridView examples that might interest you, click here.

MSDN Ramp Up - SharePoint for Developers Track

Wed, 6 Nov 2008 11:22:35 GMT

posted by VinceRothwell

The Ramp Up program has just launched a new track for SharePoint developers...

Ramp Up is a free, online, community-based learning program, with a number of different tracks that will help you build your portfolio of professional development skills.

The SharePoint track will immerse you in many of the developer-centric capabilities of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server.

Level 1: Web Parts
Did you know that in SharePoint you can build pages as easy as in ASP.NET - and allow end users to create dashboards? Web parts allow for creating components of Web user interface that can be reused on multiple Web pages. These are introduced in ASP.NET and built on in SharePoint where they can be added to pages by end users and managed by IT Professionals. In this topic you will learn about building simple Web parts for SharePoint and how to connect them back to SharePoint site data.

Level 2: Data Lists
Did you know that SharePoint developers can work with data from lists that users get access to too? Data lists provide data storage for end users in SharePoint. End users can create lists with schema all through the SharePoint user interface and they can create, edit, and view the data. All of this data can be programmatically accessed by developers and this topic is all about that.

Level 3: Event Handlers
Did you know that SharePoint developers can automatically process data that your users upload via a spreadsheet? Event handlers (or event receivers) are custom code that runs on the SharePoint server in response to something that happens on the server. Event handlers can be useful for running business logic in response to data being added to the site. This topic shows how to create simple event handlers and investigates ways that event handlers can be used in SharePoint.

Level 4: Workflow
Did you know that you can write WF workflows in SharePoint without having to worry about storage, persistence, or how to interact with the user? Workflow in SharePoint allows for implementation of processes that require interaction such as email approvals or form completion by people in your organization. This topic shows you how to create simple workflows in SharePoint using Visual Studio that involve approvals from people by email and for meeting room resource bookings with an administrator.

Level 5: Silverlight Web Parts
Did you know that you can build rich Internet applications with SharePoint? Silverlight is a new Web user interface technology from Microsoft that allows for each implementation of animations and videos. This topic shows how a SharePoint user interface can be enhanced by using Silverlight in Web parts as part of a SharePoint site.

Visit the Ramp Up site and sign up for free. You can also access the forums for the Ramp Up program.

Select Training opportunities to fit in before the end of the year

Thu, 14 Nov 2008 17:00:47 GMT

posted by joleson

Some of you may be looking to bone up on some skills for more than one reason... whether it's budget that will be surrendered at the end of the year, holiday slow downs that provide opportunity (I know some companies that actually suspend any change control activity during the month of December), or if it's simply a good time to take your skills to the next level to show your company that you're committed and one of the ones they should retain.

I've spent some time recently with Todd in a consulting engagement, and Shane co-presenting earlier in the week on Governance. Also lots of good casual conversations with Nicola.

Ted Pattison Group Training Courses

Todd and Shane Show (12/8 to 12/12) "SharePoint Administrators Survival Camp"- So Todd Klindt and Shane Young are teaming up to co-present SharePoint Admin Training (* Based on Shane's Admin Training +the best of Todd Klindt from his world wide presentations, and even some of my decks incorporated). Since you've got two of the most experienced hands on IT Pro MVPs, you're sure to get training unlike any other, with depth and breadth you won't find elsewhere. With Todd and Shane you're getting Sr Consultants and Architects (minus the dev) who don't just speak it, they know it.

Business Users Guide to Sharepoint 2007 - Nicola Young... This is the class I recommend you send your stakeholders to. If you want them to get on board the SharePoint train. This one will help them see the vision and get a first look as well as learn the basics on how it applies to the business.

SharePoint Planning and Governance - John Ross (MVP) and co author of the courseware is teaching this one. Governance and planning have never been more important.

Be sure to tell them Joel sent you, and tell them you want the "Joel" best rate. This will ensure you get any and all discounts.

Microsoft

Microsoft Certified Master: Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (February 9–28, 2009, April 13–May 2, 2009) For my own selfish reasons I want to see the people who already have their certs and looking to make themselves completely recession proof. This is a 99% guaranteed way to do it. I'll also want your autograph and to be your friend when you get your cert. :) I realize this stretches past the next year, but you have to start early in your planning for 3 weeks. Also if you sign up. Please let me know, I'm curious how deep the class is. I really have quite a few questions about this one.

FREE Webinar

Upcoming Webinar- The Myths & Truths of Email Management with SharePoint - Thursday, November 20, 2008 at 11:00 AM EST (1 hour plus Q&A), (me) Joel Oleson, SharePoint Sr. Architect, Consultant, Quest Software & Speaker and Host: Barry Jinks, President & CEO, Colligo Networks Inc.

Quick Note on SharePoint Training

I like to tell people that they should look for trainers with *real* experience. I do occasionally complain about the MOC courses based on people with book smarts. Make sure anything you sign up for you're looking for SharePoint MVPs or something that sets them apart (like real world experience). Some companies advertise their MVPs and sign you up with someone else, so be sure to do a background check :).

Task Escalation using Workflows

Tue, 15 Oct 2008 12:25:00 GMT

posted by TonyBierman

I was recently showing one of the students in my class (who, by the way, was one of four students that traveled all the way from Ghana to attend four different SharePoint Solutions classes) how to assign tasks and escalate the tasks using a SharePoint Designer workflow. Before we started, he was convinced that they needed to do this in Visual Studio. I quickly told him "that's completely doable with a SharePoint Designer workflow" and began showing him a quick demo of how to do it.

When you create workflows that assign tasks and you want to escalate those tasks to other people when the tasks are not completed in a certain time period, it is best to use an additional list that stores this configuration information. You only want to create the workflow once and, if the people change over time, simply update a SharePoint list with the new people (and time periods).

So, let's begin by creating our list that drives the assignment of tasks and their escalation. Here's a list for our four regions: North, East, South and West. In the list we have three levels; the first person to assign the task to, the second person to escalate the task to and the final person (head honcho) that will get the task if the first two fail to perform their duties in the prescribed time periods. These time limits are defined as: 1st Person Task Time and 2nd Person Task Time, which define how many hours (or minutes or days) we want to give each person before escalation occurs.

I got bit doing this the first time and I'm not sure why. When I created and used an Issues list, SharePoint didn't want to set the "Assigned To" field during the workflow. However, when I recreated the issues list and tried again, it worked. Not sure why.

Anyway, I created an Issues list because it has all the columns you would need for creating a "trouble ticket."

On the trouble ticket issues list, I created a matching field called Region, because tickets are opened up for a region and assigned to a person that is responsible for the region. In this case I created a lookup field on Region in the Escalation List.

The first thing I want to do in my workflow is to assign the issues list item (we'll refer to it as the trouble ticket) to the first person AND assign them a task. Let's start with assigning the trouble ticket to the first person.

Create a new workflow on the list and automatically start it when an item is created.

In the first step, we're going to Set Field in Current Item (i.e. we are going to set the "Assigned to" field).

Now we begin the lookup on who we're going to assign the item to.

Here's the final lookup definition. We are selecting 1st Person from Escalation List where Escalation List:Region = Trouble Tickets:Region. In SQL syntax:

Select

[1^st Person]

From

[Escalation List]

Inner Join [Trouble Tickets]

ON [Escalation List].Region = [Trouble Tickets].Region

We know this is not guaranteed to return a single value, except for the fact that in our Escalation list we only have ONE record for each region; therefore, we are guaranteeing it to be unique.

Okay, now let's add a trouble ticket and see what happens!

Hey, it works! (This is the part that didn't work for me the first time I did it. Hmmmm…). So, you can see that the first part of our workflow is functional. Whenever a person creates a trouble ticket, it is automatically assigned to the person in the list. Can you imagine creating a time window for each person (1^st shift, 2^nd shift, 3^rd shift)? The correct person could be assigned based on when the ticket was created. Perhaps these people are in different time zones…just food for thought.

Okay, let's work on the next step. The next step will assign a task to the first person in the Escalation list. This is the same person that the trouble-ticket was assigned to.

The task is assigned to the same person as the trouble ticket, so the workflow lookup will be the same.

We could, of course, add other actions that would execute after the task was completed, but for the sake of brevity, we'll stop here. If the option is turned on in the task list to send an email when the task is assigned, then you don't have to create a custom email in the workflow (assuming, of course, the out-of-the-box email works for you).

When we create a new trouble ticket, we can see that the Assigned To is completed (Jose Curry) and checking our Tasks list we see that Jose has also been assigned a task.

Now for the next, and most important, step. In order for the task to be reassigned (escalated) after a time period, we need to create a workflow on the tasks list. This workflow will start when a new item is created and pause until the time period has expired. At this point, it will perform a test to determine if the task should be escalated.

Create the workflow on the Tasks list.

Here's the completed lookup. We want to select the 1^st Person Task Time from Escalation List where the Region in the Escalation List matches the Region in the Trouble Tickets list.

We can find the Region in the Trouble Tickets list because the Current Item (our task) has a reference back to the ID of the item that created the task (Workflow Item ID). This is a very important concept of which to be aware when you are creating workflows and tasks. Each task has a reference back to the ID of item that created the task. Therefore, you can always "find" the original item that relates to the task and use the information from the original item to drive your workflow.

Our "Pause for duration" step shows that we will pause the workflow for the number of minutes (we could have just as easily used hours or days) specified in the 1^st Person Task Time field of the Escalation List. After pausing, we'll perform a test to determine if the task needs to be reassigned (escalated). We'll perform this test by checking to see if the status has been changed to something other than "Not Started." If the task is reassigned, we'll also send an email to the 1^st Person (copying the 2^nd Person and 3^rd Person) informing them they have failed and the task has been reassigned to someone more capable (actually the 1^st Person was on vacation). Before doing this we'll assign some variables to the people involved so we don't have to perform the lookups multiple times.

Assign some variables to lookups to avoid doing the lookup work multiple times.

Here's an example lookup to find the 2^nd Person in the Escalation List.

Next we'll send an email to the original "Assigned To" on the Trouble Ticket list informing them the task has be reassigned to another person. Again we'll use the variables we created to assign the To: and CC: fields.

Now we just need to compile the workflow and test it by waiting the appropriate amount of time. We can see that the task has been assigned to Patricia and is "In Progress."

Pausing for 5 minutes…

After 5 minutes (more or less, as pausing is a "lazy" process), we see that the task is now assigned to Gail. Additionally Gail will be copied on an email notifying her of the task reassignment.

So, that is one way task escalation can be handled. To handle the next level of task reassignment, you'll need to either add additional steps in the workflow to pause the workflow and then perform another check, or start multiple workflows that will handle each case.

That was easy!

Citrix NetScaler 9 Cuts Data Center Costs in Half for Delivery of Enterprise Web Applications

Tue, 12 Nov 2008 18:04:00 GMT

posted by garyedwardsmith

Citrix NetScaler 9 Cuts Data Center Costs in Half for Delivery of Enterprise Web Applications

Powerful Expert-in-a-box Templates Cut Deployment Time for Web Applications from Days to Minutes

SANTA CLARA, Ca. » 11/12/2008 » Citrix Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:CTXS), the global leader in application delivery infrastructure, today announced Citrix® NetScaler® 9, the industry’s most advanced solution for radically improving the efficiency and TCO of web-based applications. As web applications multiply across corporate datacenters, most companies waste an estimated 50 percent of the cost of running these applications due to highly inefficient use of server and network resources. Eliminating this unnecessary overhead has been largely impractical in the past because the inefficiencies of each unique web application are simply too complex and dynamic for network and server teams to understand without deep application-level knowledge. NetScaler 9 eliminates this tradeoff by combining the industry’s most advanced optimization technology with powerful new application intelligence that automatically recommends the optimal configuration for each unique web application. As a result, NetScaler 9 can reduce the cost of delivering enterprise web applications by up to 50 percent – running applications like Microsoft® Office® SharePoint® Server 2007, Oracle® E-Business Suite and SAP® solutions, without requiring any of their existing networking or server infrastructure teams to become application experts.

“SAP is dedicated to working with partners like Citrix to simplify IT for customers,” said Joerg Nalik, Ph.D., Director, Infrastructure Technologies, SAP Labs. “Citrix recently tested NetScaler 9 at the SAP Co-Innovation Lab in Palo Alto. NetScaler AppExpert Templates and the AppExpert Visualizer demonstrably simplified configuration and provided the built-in intelligence needed to fully realize the acceleration, security and server offload benefits Citrix NetScaler delivers.”

“Previous testing of Citrix NetScaler and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 has proved that NetScaler, by accelerating WAN traffic and almost eliminating delivery overhead, can accelerate SharePoint performance by up to 500 percent, most notably for users accessing SharePoint over WAN links or across the Internet,” said Owen Allen, Sr. Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation. “Capabilities like the NetScaler 9 AppExpert Template for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 make it easy for IT organizations to implement an optimized solution.”

See end of release for additional comments of support for NetScaler 9 from Net One Systems and True Internet.

Initial Deployment: Deploy Enterprise Web Applications in 30 Minutes or Less
NetScaler 9 introduces AppExpert Templates that capture hundreds of deployment details so that web application optimizations can be applied immediately, without any manual intervention. With AppExpert Templates, network managers no longer need to master the intricacies of each application in order to realize the performance, offload, security and availability benefits during application production operations. The AppExpert Visualizer dynamically builds and displays an end-to-end view of the application delivery deployment. With the AppExpert Visualizer, IT managers get a comprehensive view of run-time health and status with ‘at-a-glance’ simplicity, improving IT staff productivity and reducing the time needed to identify problems or errors within the infrastructure or application. Enterprise IT managers can overcome the inefficiency of their web delivery infrastructure and deploy enterprise applications within minutes, cutting data center costs in half and accelerating application performance by up to five times.

“As web applications become ever more complex, IT managers struggle to get the most out of their network and server infrastructure,” said Cindy Borovick, Research Vice President for IDC’s datacenter networks service. “The new NetScaler 9 enables IT teams to quickly and easily tap powerful server offload, acceleration and security capabilities. This is an important features set that saves time while bridging the knowledge of the application for network managers.”

“SAP solutions and SharePoint will be significant components of our technology infrastructure in the future,” said Martin Gibbins, Director, IT Technical Services, AmeriGas Propane, Inc. “NetScaler and AppExpert Templates, will allow us to immediately realize significant application server offload, acceleration and security benefits, enabling us to keep costs down and simplify our infrastructure while improving our user’s experience.”

Ongoing Production: Cut Server Infrastructure and Security Costs
NetScaler 9 includes new AppExpert Rate Controls that allow IT Managers to ensure SLA’s for different classes of users. Legitimate application users can be assured of access to applications while traffic from spiders, web scrapers and botnets can be throttled back or redirected appropriately. The AppExpert Rate Controls free up IT organizations from having to over-provision the network and server infrastructure to ensure adequate service levels, bringing about a reduction in server infrastructure.

NetScaler 9 integrates powerful XML security, extending the proven ICSA-certified web application firewall to protect next-generation Web 2.0 and SOA-based applications. With the integrated XML Security in NetScaler 9, IT organizations can use in-place infrastructure to protect applications from hacker attacks and meet compliance directives, minimizing the need to deploy point XML security products or rewrite the applications themselves.

Change Management: Cut Cost and Complexity as Applications Extend and Evolve
NetScaler 9 reduces the cost of managing change and extensions to currently deployed web applications, leading to increased ease-of-use and customer satisfaction. New AppExpert Service Callouts integrate logic from external applications into NetScaler policy decisions, enabling the entire network to be more adaptive, intelligent and responsive. For example, before forwarding a client request to an application, NetScaler can query an external database of blacklisted IP addresses to determine whether the request is from a known illegitimate site or user.

URLs in modern applications are no longer static links to static pages, but are addresses to dynamic application services critical to running business. When published URLs change, the ‘ripple effect’ of these changes can cause issues with other applications and user satisfaction may take a hit. NetScaler 9 adds advanced URL rewriting to make application changes completely transparent to other applications and users, while obfuscating sensitive internal details to mitigate hacker attack.

“Customers are extremely excited about the ease-of-use features NetScaler 9 offers, which cuts implementation of web app optimization from days to minutes, saving budget dollars and lowering the bar for whomever can implement these advanced solutions. NetScaler AppExpert Templates can be deployed in 30 minutes or less, making it simpler to realize the 50 percent reduction in data center costs that NetScaler brings.” said Klaus Oestermann, Vice President and General Manager, Application Networking Group at Citrix Systems. “As web applications become ever more complex and budgets become stringent, IT managers struggle to get the most value out of their application delivery infrastructure. NetScaler improves efficiency and offers additional cost savings which IT departments need in today’s tight economy.”

A key component of the Citrix Delivery Center™ product family, NetScaler 9, whether used alone or in conjunction with the other components of the Delivery Center, dynamically adapts data centers to the complex needs of Web 2.0, SOA and other modern web applications. The new NetScaler 9 release is being featured on December 4, 2008 as part of a global, online launch event called Citrix Delivery Center Live!: Turbocharge your Datacenter. This virtual event delivers everything normally found in an in-person event, but without the expense and hassle. This event will provide an in-depth look at the newest versions of Citrix XenServer™, Citrix® NetScaler® and Citrix XenDesktop™ and show how they can simplify IT to dramatically reduce TCO and accelerate business.

Pricing and Availability
NetScaler 9 will be available to NetScaler customers with a valid maintenance agreement on November 26, 2008.

Additional Information
For additional illustrations and a quick four-minute demonstration of AppExpert Templates, please visit: http://community.citrix.com/display/ns/AppExpertTemplates.

About Citrix
Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTXS) is the global leader and the most trusted name in Application Delivery Infrastructure. More than 215,000 organizations worldwide rely on Citrix to deliver any application to users anywhere with the best performance, highest security and lowest cost. Citrix customers include 100 percent of the Fortune 100 companies and 99 percent of the Fortune Global 500, as well as hundreds of thousands of small businesses and prosumers. Citrix has approximately 8,000 partners in more than 100 countries. Annual revenue in 2007 was $1.4 billion.

For Citrix Investors
This release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The forward-looking statements in this release do not constitute guarantees of future performance. Those statements involve a number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, including risks associated with revenue growth and recognition of revenue, products, their development and distribution, product demand and pipeline, economic and competitive factors, the Company’s key strategic relationships, acquisition and related integration risks as well as other risks detailed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Citrix assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this press release or with respect to the announcements described herein.

SAP Forward-looking Statement
Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “project,” “predict,” “should” and “will” and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations The factors that could affect SAP’s future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (”SEC”), including SAP’s most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.

###

Citrix®, NetScaler®, XenServer™, XenDesktop™ and Citrix Delivery Center™ are trademarks of Citrix Systems, Inc. and/or one or more of its subsidiaries, and may be registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. SAP and all SAP logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in Germany and in several other countries. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Supporting partner/customer quotes for NetScaler 9
“At True Internet, NetScaler 9 contributes greatly in optimizing and securing our infrastructure,” said Tanapon Chanavasu, Assistant Director, Head of Network, True Internet. “We are very pleased with NetScaler 9 since it enables us to optimize multi-tenancy via AppExpert rate controls as Role Based Administration. Moreover, this version has full IPv6 support that we plan to implement and we are indeed impressed with the performance on the NetScaler IPv6 implementation.”

“Net One Systems began selling the NetScaler product as an exclusive partner of Citrix in July 2005, and has delivered the product to a number of customers since then,” said Mr. Kaoru Yamaguchi, general manager of Network Platform Business Operations at Net One Systems. “We trust that new features within NetScaler 9 will provide customers with an application delivery solution supported by upgraded scalability. NetScaler 9 also has full IPv6 support which we plan to put into operation. We are extremely pleased with the performance on the NetScaler IPv6 implementation. Net One Systems materialize optimization of customers’ applications together with Citrix by providing total application delivery solution including consulting, design, installation, operation, and maintenance for the Japanese market.”

________________________________________________________________________________________

See Enterprise Network Architect for more news on Networking in the Enterprise.

Submit Press Releases to THE SOA NETWORK send to SOA@pr2web.com.

(For more details visit www.pr2web.com).

_________________________________________________________________________________________

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Gary E. Smith
SOA Network Architect - SOA in a Connected World

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